Going to FreeBSD from Mandrake

[Grognard]

Since I am used to Mandrake and some of the hand holding it does, how difficult is it going to be to migrate to FreeBSD 4.2? Is the install going to be a nightmare compared to Mandrake?

[iDxMan]

The last Mandrake install I did was a nightmare. The freebsd install is quite wonderful. It reminds me of slack's install only much better.

All text-based and fairly easy to use. Although, after that you won't have fuzzy buttons to click on. That might be more difficult than installation.


-r

[GuruWannabe]

Originally posted by Grognard:
<STRONG>Is the install going to be a nightmare compared to Mandrake?</STRONG>

Yes.
:p

[GuruWannabe]

If you've only used Mandrake, you'll learn a lot from FreeBSD and have a very stable (and noticeably faster) system when you're done. But I guarantee you there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth during the process.

To make things easier, you should download The FreeBSD handbook from FreeBSD.org. Also, you should visit http://bsdvault.net, which has a forum, help files, and links to other BSD sites.

Good luck!

[TC]

Good choice, I ran Mandrake for a while on a test machine. I was not impressed, especially because it installed a lot more than I wanted or needed. FreeBSD is much better in that department. Most of my servers run OpenBSD or FreeBSD. Workstations are either IRIX (Indy's and 02's), Debian or FreeBSD.

TC ;)

[Grognard]

Thanks for the information. I might be migrating from Mandrake 7.2 to FreeBSD 4.2(4.3???) on my K-6 machine.

[Grognard]

Does FreeBSD 4.3 make the transition any easier for a lowly 'Drake user?

[jbstew32]

FreeBSD 4.2 and 4.3 have identical installs. The only changes are gug fixes and the addition of KDE 2.1 and X 4.0.3. It is still very close to a Slackware install.

It will be very difficult compared to a Mandrake install (unless its pre mandrake 7.0, but even then, it will still seem more difficult)

[tolstoy]

If your coming from Mandrake and are used to a GUI install and config (Drankconf) you have a lot of reading (and wailing and gnashing of teeth) ahead of you to get your system set up right. If you can get through it though, you'll be better for it. Mandrake was my first distro. In my opionion it is very bloated (not to mention that annoyingly silly aurora). FreeBSD and Slack are much cleaner and more stable. :)

[EscapeCharacter]

you're screwed :) j/k it shouldnt be that hard the install i pretty easy like many others have said its just the system setup that you will have to get use to

[S0larfluX]

The only concern I have about the FreeBSD install is that it's rather circular... I.E., it asks if you want to do post-install configuration. While this is fine for those who know what they're doing, when newbies start mucking around and then finally finish up, it kind of gives you that feeling of... 'Wait, did the install actually complete?'

My recommendation is to do the install, and reboot the system to make sure it's working.

THEN go back into /stand/sysinstall and do your post-install configging. This way you probably won't screw up the install and have to start over from scratch.

[Bully_Crist]

Originally posted by S0larfluX:
<STRONG>The only concern I have about the FreeBSD install is that it's rather circular... I.E., it asks if you want to do post-install configuration. While this is fine for those who know what they're doing, when newbies start mucking around and then finally finish up, it kind of gives you that feeling of... 'Wait, did the install actually complete?'

My recommendation is to do the install, and reboot the system to make sure it's working.

THEN go back into /stand/sysinstall and do your post-install configging. This way you probably won't screw up the install and have to start over from scratch.</STRONG>

good advice... I typically use the post-install configuration to disable inetd until I can properly configure the thing... other than that... :rolleyes: